Burden ? He worked for decades in the high-tech world, designing navigation communications systems for airports worldwide. Now, Emory Lewis has retired and found a way to pursue his fascination with technology while giving back to the place he grew up.

Lewis is turning Burden’s old fire station into a museum of east Cowley County’s history. The museum will be filled with computers and video screens for people to access photographs and documents that he has collected and scanned.

After a career with Rockwell International, the southeast Kansas native returned to Burden. Lewis then founded the East Central Cowley County Historical Society, which focuses on preserving the history of Burden, Cambridge, Atlanta, Dexter and several of the towns in the area that have since faded from the map.

Lewis said his electronic museum makes it easy to preserve artifacts.

“Paper crumbles, and you have to worry about fires and tornadoes,” Lewis said. “When you have electronic copies, you can have a copy here and a copy there and another copy somewhere else. You can always have a copy, no matter what happens.”

Lewis describes himself as more of a technology buff than a history buff.

“I guess I’ve always been a little interested in history, but I never had time to pursue it,” he said.

Lewis does not know of any other electronic museums around.

“I don’t think you could say this is something I envisioned, but I haven’t seen anyone else do it,” he said.